Fluid current motor



Nov. 16, 1937. I NELSON 2,099,617

FLUID CURRENT MOTOR Original Filed April 1'7, 1935 2 sh et l a. a j air/MS 2 Sheets-Shet 2 Original Filed April 17, 1955 dum Patented Nov. 16, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT Reflled' for abandoned application Serial No.

16,883, April 1'1, 1935. This application September 21, 1936, Serial N0. 101,839

6 Claims.

operating pumps and farm machinery of various kinds, operation of sawmills, electric current generators, and other equipment.

It has for an object to effect improvement in the construction of the vane elements for such 10 motors, and the control thereof automatically, particularly means for insuring proper operation of feathering vanes, and safeguarding them against damage by gales, or tornadoes, or hurricanes.

The invention includes particularly a novel stop and release device for controlling the action of vanes feathered by wind action and for causing their release'when excessive wind pressures develop, and it is an advantage of my invention that the device is so designed as to be readily manufactured at lowcost, may be installed and manually controlled by inexperienced persons to determine the direction of the operation of the device and also to place it at will in inoperative condition. The apparatus is also verydurable and liable in a minimum degree to derangement incident to common use, and operates easily and efiiciently with a minimum of wear.

Additionalobjects, advantages and features of invention reside in the construction and arrangement and combination of parts involved in the embodiment of the invention,- as may be understood or will appear from the following description and accompanying drawings, wherein,

Figure l is an elevation of a motor constructed in accordance with my invention, in operation.

Figure 2 is a top'view of Figure 1. Figure 3 is a detail of the stop spring in position for operation in one direction, being a frag- 40 mentary section on the line 3-3 of Figure l.

Figure 4 is a similar view showing the device at the beginning of automatic release action.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary horizontal section showing the triggers.

There is illustrated a suitable rigid frame i0, including four corner uprights connected by horizontal top bars l2 and lower or bottom bars l3, which, however, are preferably spaced above the ground, more or less. The uprights are embedded in the ground and suitably anchored to support the frame with safety in violent winds. Two diagonals it are extended between the uprights at their upper ends. v

At the intersection of the diagonals a vertical main shaft I5 is revolubly mounted, having a suitable bearing block it at its lower end, this block being set in the ground in the present instance to avoid need for braces from the frame Hi. This shaft has customarily been a square timber of wood. on it there are mounted two wing or vane 5 frames i1, fixed to the shaft so as to rotate therewith and adapted to carry vanes by which the shaft is rotated. The whole structure on this shaft may be called the rotor. In the present instance each frame is constructed with three horim zontal cross members I8 vertically alined, secured at their middle parts to the shaft 15 one above the other, spaced sufliciently to accommodate rotatably vanes therebetween, and connected at their extremities by two vertical end members 15 IS. The two frames are in vertical planes at right angles to each other. The number of these frames may be varied if desired, and the angular relation and number of the several vertical planes in which they are disposed may also be varied as 20 discretion dictates.

Each horizontal member l8 consists of two relatively thin bars secured to oppositefaces of the shaft l5 in horizontal alinement. Their ends converge and are fixed together on the end pieces iii to form two arms 20 on each horizontal member. A truss function is thus secured in each arm by which it is adapted to sustain, with a minimum of yielding, horizontal stresses at. right angles to the arm. The bars of the cross members of one frame are above or below those of the next adjacent cross members of the other frame, so that such cross member is continuous and each arm is integral with the diametrically opposite arm. 35

Between each two vertically spaced arms 20, therefore, there is formed an opening which is utilized for a respective vane, each frame having four such openings. A distance above the horizontal medial lines of the openings between the 40 arms 2|), there are mounted respective horizontal rock shafts 2i, on which there are fixed respective wings or vanes 22 which stop short of the shaft IS. The shafts II have bearings inthe main shaft l5 at their inner ends, and at their 45 outer ends are pivoted in the end members l9. Each vane includes a wide portion 23 and a narrow portion 24 of such proportions that the full width of the vane is slightly less than the vertical dimension of the respective opening between the 50 arms 20. A weight 25 is provided on the narrow portion of each vane to balance the vane for ready turning on its pivot. The vanes in the present instance are thus eight in number and each is independently movable. Each of the eight 55 rock shafts 2| is provided with a stop and release spring 26, fixed on the shaft 2| a distance from the main shaft 15. Each of these devices 26 con sists of two'resilientarms 21 and 2 8 secured to the shaft 2| at right angles to eachother and in a plane at right angles to the shaft 2|, onebeing in a plane with the adjacent vane on the same shaft and projected at the same side with the narrowportion 24, while the other arm is at right angles to the plane of the vane in the direction of what may be termed the incident side of the vane. The extremities of the arms 21-28 are connected integrally by a guard sector bar 29 formed integrally with the arms and extending 1s concentrically with the shaft 2| over an arc of 270 degrees. For convenience, the arms 21-28 and sector are formed of resilient wire of adequate strength, and the junctions of the-arms 'and the sector are rounded as-at-30, for purposes to be explained. For each stop device 26 a stop lever 3| of the first order is, pivoted on the side of the shaft ii to oscillate in a plane parallel to that of the respective frame II. It has a long arm extended toward the vane and provided with an offset stop 32 spaced normally above the shaft 2| slightly less than the radius of the arms 21-21:

and sector 29 and projected across the plane of the spring 26. The arm 21 engages the stop 32 at the side of thestop opposite the incident face of the vane by clockwise movement of the vane as viewed from its outerend. The vane is then in a vertical plane. The arm 28 engages the opposite side of the same stop 32 when the vane has been rotated counter-clockwise through an are of 90 degrees from its vertical plane, as viewed from the outer end of the vane. The short arm of the lever has connected to its extremity a cable 33 by means of a helical spring 34, the cables from all the levers being commonly connected to a release lever 35 pivoted on the lower end of the. main shaft |I.- Downward movement of this lever manually will draw downward on all of the short arms of the levers 3| and lift the stops 32 out ofthe paths of the respective arms 21-23. The longer arms of the levers 3| are here indicated as being returned to operative position by gravity when the lever 38 is released. The long arms are stopped at operative position by means of'pins 38 set in the sides of the shaft ii.

A power take-off pulley 31 is fixed on the shaft II ata suitable height, from which a'belt 33 may be extended, as desired, or other suitable power take-oil may be employed.

On each vane at the outer end of the wide portion 23 an auxiliary surface or feather piece 33 is fixed, consisting of a thin aluminum or other plate extending transversely along the end edge of the vane at right angles to its medial axis, and

- inclined inwardly from this transverse edge K0761- the vane a short distance so that a surface is presented incident to the wind at the outer end of the vane. Stays 43 may be employed between the arms 20 to hold them'against displacement from prop r angular relation, and stays 4| may also be employed from the shaft I! to the outer parts of the frames H to sustain them effectively against In operation, the lever 35 ,being' released from catch 42 later described, the stop ends 32 fall,

vand if the short space between the arms 21-23 is notthereunder, the guard 23 will support the stop lever with the stop resting slidably on the guard. As soon as the vanemoves to bring either oftbearms2'l-.2lpastthestop32,the latterwill fall into position, so that when the'wind blows against the vane 22 the latter will be supported against turning by engagement of the arm 21 against the stop 32. When the vane has moved beyond a vertical plane coincident with the direc- 5 tion ,of the wind, the wind pressure against the back of the wide portion of the vane will swing the wide portion of the vane upward to the feathv ering position shown ,at the right in Figures 1 and 2. Arm 28 will thereby be moved against the 10 stop 32 to check the vane in proper feathering and trailing position. As the vane now moves forwardly against the wind it will present a minimum cross sectional area to oppose the wind, and will so remain until after it has reached a 1 plane nearly coincident with the direction of the wind. At this position the wind is incident to the end edge of the vane and exerts a pressure on the feather 38 .by which the wide bottom of the vane is depressed and moved to position to receive 20 the major impact and pressure of the air current. It is checked at. this full operative position by engagement of the arm 21 against the stop 32, as before indicated. In case it is desired to stop the motor at any time, the lever is depressed 25 untilgheld by the catch 42 which maybe located on the shaft II. At those vanes where feathering is occurring the pressure and friction of the arms 21 against the stops 32 will have been relieved and the levers 3| will be moved to inoperative position. Where the vane is sustaining wind pressure, however, the friction of the arm 23 against the stop 32 will prevent the movement of the latter upward, and so the respective springs 34 will yield, without moving the lever 3| and the 35 lever may be secured in release positio When the rotor has moved further, and pressure on the unreleased vane is relieved, the spring itself will then function by its contraction, to move the particular lever 3| to release position. The stops 32 engage the arms 23 near the outer ends of the latter and immediately at the beginning of the backwardly curved part 33. When the wind pressures upon the vanes-reach an'excessive degree endangering the integrity of the a structure, the pressure of the arm 2] against the stop 32, in each instance, will cause the arm to become flexed backwardly, yielding to the stop 32, as shown by Fig. 4. The armhas its radius thus shortened, and the curved part'of the spring begins to move under the stop 32. After a short vmovement of this kind the deflecting action of the curved part 32 acting upwardly .after the manner of a cam, on the long arm of the lever,

finally lifts this arm and moves the stop 32 above minimize racking and deterioration of the structural parts Various modifications of the struemre involving the invention may be made within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit thereof, as discretion dictates.

' I claim:

1. In a motor ofthe character described, a

rotor having vanes pivoted for movement to and from operative position on respective .ax'es spaced 3' from the medial lines of the vanes, so'that each vane constitutes one wide portion and one narrow portionatrespectivesidesoftheaxiascontroifl device including a coaxial mm fixed with each vane, radial arms on the shaft at an angle of ninety degrees to each other, and a stop having the stop and flex to pass the stop, under action of excessive wind pressures on the vane.

3. The structure of claim 1 inwhich the ends of the two arms are connected by an integral resilient sector, the junctions oi the arms and sector being curved away from the "stop engaging of thetwo arms are connected opposite said angle of 90 degrees by a sector concentric with the shaft, said sector being in a plane intersected by said'stop.

5. In a fluid current motor, a rotatable support, a fluid current operated vane pivoted unsymmetrically thereon and yieldable to incident fluid, movable on its pivot to operative and inoperative positions transverse to and alined with incident fluid alternately, and manually releasable means to support the vane in operative position, said means being yieldable toward release position to a predetermined fluid current pressure on the vane. r

6, The structure of claim 1- in which the stop is movable outwardly from said one arm, and said one arm is resilient and'flexibie to predetermined pressure of the stop thereagainst and movable to an inclined position at such angle to the path of movement of the stop that the stop will be moved outwardly and the arm will pass the stop, under excessive wind pressure on the vane.

onvrs x. NELSON. 

